how is sat essay scored

SAT Essay Scores Explained

On january 19th, 2021, college board announced that they will no longer administer the sat subject tests in the u.s. and that the essay would be retired. read our blog post  to understand what this means in the near term and what the college board has in store for students down the road., our articles on subject tests and the sat essay will remain on our site for reference purposes as colleges and students transition to a revised testing landscape..

Why are there no percentiles for the essay on an SAT score report?

No percentiles or norms are provided in student reports. Even colleges do not receive any summary statistics. Given Compass’ concerns about the inaccuracy of essay scoring and the notable failures of the ACT on that front, the de-emphasis of norms would seem to be a good thing. The problem is that 10% of colleges are sticking with the SAT Essay as an admission requirement . While those colleges will not receive score distribution reports from the College Board, it is not difficult for them to construct their own statistics—officially or unofficially—based on thousands of applicants. Colleges can determine a “good score,” but students cannot. This asymmetry of information is harmful to students, as they are left to speculate how well they have performed and how their scores will be interpreted. Through our analysis, Compass hopes to provide students and parents more context for evaluating SAT Essay scores.

How has scoring changed? Is it still part of a student’s Total Score?

On the old SAT, the essay was a required component of the Writing section and made up approximately one-third of a student’s 200–800 score. The essay score itself was simply the sum (2–12) of two readers’ 1–6 scores. Readers were expected to grade holistically and not to focus on individual components of the writing. The SAT essay came under a great deal of criticism for being too loosely structured. Factual accuracy was not required; it was not that difficult to make pre-fabricated material fit the prompt; many colleges found the 2–12 essay scores of little use; and the conflation of the essay and “Writing” was, in some cases, blocking the use of the SAT Writing score—which included grammar and usage—entirely.

With the 2016 overhaul of the SAT came an attempt to make the essay more academically defensible while also making it optional (as the ACT essay had long been). The essay score is not a part of the 400–1600 score. Instead, a student opting to take the SAT Essay receives 2–8 scores in three dimensions: reading, analysis, and writing. No equating or fancy lookup table is involved. The scores are simply the sum of two readers’ 1–4 ratings in each dimension. There is no official totaling or averaging of scores, although colleges may choose to do so.

Readers avoid extremes

What is almost universally true about grading of standardized test essays is that readers gravitate to the middle of the scale. The default instinct is to nudge a score above or below a perceived cutoff or midpoint rather than to evenly distribute scores. When the only options are 1, 2, 3, or 4, the consequence is predictable—readers give out a lot of 2s and 3s and very few 1s and 4s. In fact, our analysis shows that 80% of all reader scores are 2s or 3s. This, in turn, means that most of the dimension scores (the sum of the two readers) range from 4 to 6. Analysis scores are outliers. A third of readers give essays a 1 in Analysis. Below is the distribution of reader scores across all dimensions.

What is a good SAT Essay score?

By combining multiple data sources—including extensive College Board scoring information—Compass has estimated the mean and mode (most common) essay scores for students at various score levels. We also found that the reading and writing dimensions were similar, while analysis scores lagged by a point across all sub-groups. These figures should not be viewed as cutoffs for “good” scores. The loose correlation of essay score to Total Score and the high standard deviation of essay scores means that students at all levels see wide variation of scores. The average essay-taking student scores a 1,080 on the SAT and receives just under a 5/4/5.

College Board recently released essay results for the class of 2017, so score distributions are now available. From these, percentiles can also be calculated. We provide these figures with mixed feelings. On the one hand, percentile scores on such an imperfect measure can be highly misleading. On the other hand, we feel that students should understand the full workings of essay scores.

The role of luck

What is frustrating to many students on the SAT and ACT is that they can score 98th percentile in most areas and then get a “middling” score on the essay. This result is actually quite predictable. Whereas math and verbal scores are the result of dozens of objective questions, the essay is a single question graded subjectively. To replace statistical concepts with a colloquial one—far more “luck” is involved than on the multiple-choice sections. What text is used in the essay stimulus? How well will the student respond to the style and subject matter? Which of the hundreds of readers were assigned to grade the student’s essay? What other essays has the reader recently scored?

Even good writers run into the unpredictability involved and the fact that essay readers give so few high scores. A 5 means that the Readers A and B gave the essay a 2 and a 3, respectively. Which reader was “right?” If the essay had encountered two readers like Reader A, it would have received a 4. If the essay had been given two readers like Reader B, it would have received a 6. That swing makes a large difference if we judge scores exclusively by percentiles, but essay scores are simply too blurry to make such cut-and-dry distinctions. More than 80% of students receive one of three scores—4, 5, or 6 on the reading and writing dimensions and 3, 4, or 5 on analysis.

What do colleges expect?

It’s unlikely that many colleges will release a breakdown of essay scores for admitted students—especially since so few are requiring it. What we know from experience with the ACT , though, is that even at the most competitive schools in the country, the 25th–75th percentile scores of admitted students were 8–10 on the ACT’s old 2–12 score range. We expect that things will play out similarly for the SAT and that most students admitted to highly selective colleges will have domain scores in the 5–7 range (possibly closer to 4–6 for analysis). It’s even less likely for students to average a high score across all three areas than it is to obtain a single high mark. We estimate that only a fraction of a percent of students will average an 8—for example [8/8/8, 7/8/8, 8/7/8, or 8,8,7].

Update as of October 2017. The University of California system has published the 25th–75th percentile ranges for enrolled students. It has chosen to work with total scores. The highest ranges—including those at UCLA and Berkeley—are 17–20. Those scores are inline with our estimates above.

How will colleges use the domain scores?

Colleges have been given no guidance by College Board on how to use essay scores for admission. Will they sum the scores? Will they average them? Will they value certain areas over others? Chances are that if you are worrying too much about those questions, then you are likely losing sight of the bigger picture. We know of no cases where admission committees will make formulaic use of essay scores. The scores are a very small, very error-prone part of a student’s testing portfolio.

How low is too low?

Are 3s and 4s, then, low enough that an otherwise high-scoring student should retest? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. In general, it is a mistake to retest solely to improve an essay score unless a student is confident that the SAT Total Score can be maintained or improved. A student with a 1340 PSAT and 1280 SAT may feel that it is worthwhile to bring up low essay scores because she has previously shown that she can do better on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Math, as well. A student with a 1400 PSAT and 1540 SAT should think long and hard before committing to a retest. Admission results from the class of 2017 may give us some added insight into the use of SAT Essay scores.

Will colleges continue to require the SAT Essay?

For the class of 2017, Compass has prepared a list of the SAT Essay and ACT Writing policies for 360 of the top colleges . Several of the largest and most prestigious public university systems—California, Michigan, and Texas, for example, still require the essay, and a number of highly competitive private colleges do the same—for example, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford.

The number of excellent colleges not requiring the SAT Essay, though, is long and getting longer. Compass expects even more colleges to drop the essay requirement for the classes of 2018 and 2019. Policies are typically finalized in late spring or during the summer.

Should I skip the essay entirely?

A common question regarding SAT scores is whether the whole mess can be avoided by skipping the essay. After all, if only about 10% of colleges are requiring the section, is it really that important? Despite serious misgivings about the test and the ways scores are interpreted, Compass still recommends that most students take the essay unless they are certain that they will not be applying to any of the colleges requiring or recommending it. Nationally, about 70% of students choose to take the essay on at least one SAT administration. When looking at higher scoring segments, that quickly rises to 85–90%. Almost all Compass students take the SAT Essay at least once to insure that they do not miss out on educational opportunities.

Should I prepare for the SAT Essay?

Most Compass students decide to do some preparation for the essay, because taking any part of a test “cold” can be an unpleasant experience, and students want to avoid feeling like a retake is necessary. In addition to practicing exercises and tests, most students can perform well enough on the SAT Essay after 1–2 hours of tutoring. Students taking a Compass practice SAT will also receive a scored essay. Students interested in essay writing tips for the SAT can refer to Compass blog posts on the difference between the ACT and SAT tasks  and the use of first person on the essays .

Will I be able to see my essay?

Yes. ACT makes it difficult to obtain a copy of your Writing essay, but College Board includes it as part of your online report.

Will colleges have access to my essay? Even if they don’t require it?

Yes, colleges are provided with student essays. We know of very few circumstances where SAT Essay reading is regularly conducted. Colleges that do not require the SAT Essay fall into the “consider” and “do not consider” camps. Schools do not always list this policy on their website or in their application materials, so it is hard to have a comprehensive list. We recommend contacting colleges for more information. In general, the essay will have little to no impact at colleges that do not require or recommend it.

Is the SAT Essay a reason to take the ACT instead?

Almost all colleges that require the SAT Essay require Writing for ACT-takers. The essays are very different on the two tests, but neither can be said to be universally “easier” or “harder.” Compass recommends that the primary sections of the tests determine your planning. Compass’ content experts have also written a piece on how to attack the ACT essay .

Key links in this post:

ACT and SAT essay requirements ACT Writing scores explained Comparing ACT and SAT essay tasks The use of first person in ACT and SAT essays Understanding the “audience and purpose” of the ACT essay Compass proctored practice testing for the ACT, SAT, and Subject Tests

About Art Sawyer

Art graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he was the top-ranked liberal arts student in his class. Art pioneered the one-on-one approach to test prep in California in 1989 and co-founded Compass Education Group in 2004 in order to bring the best ideas and tutors into students' homes and computers. Although he has attained perfect scores on all flavors of the SAT and ACT, he is routinely beaten in backgammon.

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Hi! I’m a high school junior who took the October and November SATs. I got a 1500 on October and then retook it to get a 1590 in November. I’m very happy with my score, but my essays are troubling me. I got a 6-4-6 in October and thought I would improve in November, but I got a 6-3-6. I really cannot improve my actual SAT score, but I don’t understand the essay. I’ve always been a good writer and have consistently been praised for it in English class and outside of class. Is this essay score indicative of my writing skill? And will this essay hurt my chances at Ivy League and other top tier schools? None of the schools I plan on applying to require it, but, since I have to submit it, will it hurt my chances? Thank you so much.

Maya, The essay is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Honestly, a 6-4-6 is a fine score and will not hurt your chances for admission. It’s something of an odd writing task, so I wouldn’t worry that it doesn’t match your writing skills elsewhere.

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What Is the SAT Essay?

College Board

• February 28, 2024

The SAT Essay section is a lot like a typical writing assignment in which you’re asked to read and analyze a passage and then produce an essay in response to a single prompt about that passage. It gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your reading, analysis, and writing skills—which are critical to readiness for success in college and career—and the scores you’ll get back will give you insight into your strengths in these areas as well as indications of any areas that you may still need to work on.

The Essay section is only available in certain states where it’s required as part of SAT School Day administrations. If you’re going to be taking the SAT during school , ask your counselor if it will include the Essay section. If it’s included, the Essay section will come after the Reading and Writing and Math sections and will add an additional 50 minutes .

What You’ll Do

• Read a passage between 650 and 750 words in length.
• Explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience.
• Support your explanation with evidence from the passage.

You won’t be asked to agree or disagree with a position on a topic or to write about your personal experience.

The Essay section shows how well you understand the passage and are able to use it as the basis for a well-written, thought-out discussion. Your score will be based on three categories.

Reading: A successful essay shows that you understood the passage, including the interplay of central ideas and important details. It also shows an effective use of textual evidence.

Analysis: A successful essay shows your understanding of how the author builds an argument by:

• Examining the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and other stylistic and persuasive techniques
• Supporting and developing claims with well-chosen evidence from the passage

Writing: A successful essay is focused, organized, and precise, with an appropriate style and tone that varies sentence structure and follows the conventions of standard written English.

Learn more about how the SAT Essay is scored.

Want to practice? Log in to the Bluebook™ testing application , go to the Practice and Prepare section, and choose full-length practice test . There are 3 practice Essay   tests. Once you submit your response, go to MyPractice.Collegeboard.org , where you’ll see your essay, a scoring guide and rubric so that you can score yourself, and student samples for various scores to compare your self-score with a student at the same level.

After the Test

You’ll get your Essay score the same way you’ll get your scores for the Reading and Writing and Math sections. If you choose to send your SAT scores to colleges, your Essay score will be reported along with your other section scores from that test day. Even though Score Choice™   allows you to choose which day’s scores you send to colleges, you can never send only some scores from a certain test day. For instance, you can’t choose to send Math scores but not SAT Essay scores.

Until 2021, the SAT Essay was also an optional section when taking the SAT on a weekend. That section was discontinued in 2021.

If you don’t have the opportunity to take the SAT Essay section as part of the SAT, don’t worry. There are other ways to show your writing skills as part of the work you’re already doing on your path to college. The SAT can help you stand out on college applications , as it continues to measure the writing and analytical skills that are essential to college and career readiness. And, if you want to demonstrate your writing skills even more, you can also consider taking an AP English course .

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SAT Essay Scoring Rubric

Sat essay scoring criteria.

• Demonstrates little or no comprehension of the source text
• Fails to show an understanding of the text’s central idea(s), and may include only details without reference to central idea(s)
• May contain numerous errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text
• Makes little or no use of textual evidence
• Demonstrates  some comprehension of the source text
• Shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) but not of important details
• May contain errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text
• Makes limited and/or haphazard use of textual evidence

Three Points

• Demonstrates  effective comprehension of the source text
• Shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and important details
• Is free of substantive errors of fact and interpretation with regard to the text
• Makes appropriate use of textual evidence

Four Points

• Demonstrates  thorough comprehension of the source text
• Shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and most important details and how they interrelate
• Is free of errors of fact or interpretation with regard to the text
• Makes skillful use of textual evidence
• Demonstrates little or no cohesion and inadequate skill in the use and control of language
• May lack a clear central claim or controlling idea
• Lacks a recognizable introduction and conclusion; does not have a discernible progression of ideas
• Lacks variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive; demonstrates general and vague word choice; word choice may be poor or inaccurate; may lack a formal style and objective tone
• Shows a weak control of the conventions of standard written English and may contain numerous errors that undermine the quality of writing
• Demonstrates little or no cohesion and limited skill in the use and control of language
• May lack a clear central claim or controlling idea or may deviate from the claim or idea
• May include an ineffective introduction and/or conclusion; may demonstrate some progression of ideas within paragraphs but not throughout
• Has limited variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive; demonstrates general and vague word choice; word choice may be repetitive; may deviate noticeably from a formal style and objective tone
• Shows a limited control of the conventions of standard written English and contains errors that detract from the quality of writing and may impede understanding
• Is mostly cohesive and demonstrates effective use and control of language
• Includes a central claim or implicit controlling idea
• Includes an effective introduction and conclusion; demonstrates a clear progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay
• Has variety in sentence structures; demonstrates some precise word choice; maintains a formal style and objective tone
• Shows a good control of the conventions of standards written English and is free of significant errors that detract from the quality of writing
• Is cohesive and demonstrates highly effective use and command of language
• Includes a precise central claim
• Includes a skillful introduction and conclusion; demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay
• Has a wide variety in sentence structures; demonstrates consistent use of precise word choice; maintains a formal style and objective tone
• Shows a strong command of the conventions of standards written English and is free or virtually free of errors
• Offers little or no analysis or ineffective analysis of the source text and demonstrates little to no understanding of the analytical task
• Identifies without explanation some aspects of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing
• Numerous aspects of analysis are unwarranted based on the text
• Contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made, or support is largely irrelevant
• May not focus on features of the text that are relevant to addressing the task
• Offers no discernible analysis (e.g., is largely or exclusively summary)
• Offers limited analysis of the source text and demonstrates only partial understanding of the analytical task
• Identifies and attempts to describe the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing, but merely asserts rather than explains their importance
• One or more aspects of analysis are unwarranted based on the text
• Contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made
• May lack a clear focus on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task
• Offers an effective analysis of the source text and demonstrates an understanding of the analytical task
• Competently evaluates the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or features of the student’s own choosing
• Contains relevant and sufficient support for claim(s) or point(s) made
• Focuses primarily on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task
• Offers an insightful analysis of the source text and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the analytical task
• Offers a thorough, well-considered evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or features of the student’s own choosing
• Contains relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made
• Focuses consistently on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task

The Scoring Process

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How Is the SAT Scored?

The SAT Is Scored on a Standard Scale

When you’re used to your test scores in school being graded out of one hundred percent, understanding the scoring process on the SAT can be a little confusing.

As of this writing, possible SAT scaled section scores are as follows:

• Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section: 200 to 800 points
• Math Section: 200 to 800 points
• Essay (optional): three subscores each ranging from 2 to 8

A perfect total score on the SAT is currently a 1600. A 1600 is usually–but not always–a reflection of having gotten every single question on the SAT correct.

If you get every single question correct on the SAT you always earn a 1600. If you don’t get a single question right, you receive a 200. The SAT Scaled Score exists so that scores on different tests can be compared effectively and to maintain an effective mean score of 500 on each section.

Let’s look at how the SAT is scored section by section.

How the SAT Is Scored

Table of Contents

How the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Is Scored

The Reading test and the Writing and Language test combine to create your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score. They each individually account for 400 of the points that contribute to a possible 800 points.

Any SAT sample or QAS will include a conversion table that correlates Raw Score, Math Section Score, Reading Test Score, and Writing and Language Test Score all in one big sheet.

Your Reading Test Score is found by counting up the number of reading questions you got correct. You don’t lose points for incorrect questions anymore, so your raw score is always just the number of questions you got right. Find the correlating scaled score in the same row.

The tricky thing here is that the raw score to scaled score isn’t completely consistent from SAT to SAT, so I can’t tell you that getting X number of questions right will automatically earn you the exact scaled score you’re looking for.

Nevertheless, a rough idea on more recent tests shows a Raw Score to Scaled Score conversion like this:

Approximate Scales for SAT Scores: Reading

Reading Raw Score	Scaled Reading Score
16	20
24	25
33	30
43	35
51	40

Just as above, the same goes for the Writing and Language Test: find your raw score by counting up how many correct answers you have and find its correlating subscore on that test’s scale.

Approximate Scales for SAT Scores: Writing

Writing Raw Score	Scaled Writing Score
13	20
22	25
31	30
38	35
44	40

How To Find Your Total SAT Score

To find your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score, you just add your Reading and Writing scaled scores together and multiply that number by 10 to find your SAT score on the 200 to 800 scale.

How the SAT Math Is Scored

This one is far more straightforward: even though there are technically two math tests, No Calculator and Calculator, they aren’t worth 400 individually. Your Raw Score on the Math section is just the total number of math questions you got right out of all 58 questions on both tests.

Then you go through the same translation: your Scaled Score comes from your Raw Score.

Approximate Scales for SAT Scores: Math

Math Raw Score	Scaled Math Score
17	400
27	500
39	600
50	700
57	800

How Is the SAT Essay Scored?

The SAT essay is a little bit different in its scoring, one, in that it’s scored by people rather than a machine and, two, in that its scoring ranges from 2 to 8 on three different subsections.

Each reader on your essay rates your essay in three different categories on a scale of 1 to 4. The two scores you receive from each reader are added together to form a single dimension score on the 2 to 8 scale.

You don’t ultimately receive a single SAT Essay score; you receive three. While this isn’t the official word from the College Board, it’s probably easiest to imagine that an 8 on each section is similar to getting an 800 on the multiple choice sections

SAT Essay Scoring Dimension One: Reading

This section accounts for one subscore of 2 to 8. The reading dimension of the essay rates how easily you can correctly identify the author’s argument and the specific supporting details she uses to make that case.

SAT Essay Scoring Dimension Two: Analysis

This section accounts for another subscore of 2 to 8. You earn a strong analysis score by explaining how the author builds her argument and appeals to her audience to get them to agree with her. You’ll earn a strong analysis score if you go into great detail about how the author is persuasive.

SAT Essay Scoring Dimension Three: Writing

This section accounts for your last subscore of 2 to 8. This is the section in which your writing itself is evaluated; of course the mechanics and style of your essay matter, too.

You can find detailed information about the scoring rubric your SAT essay graders use when over at the College Board . If you want to improve your SAT Essay score, check out my posts about How To Write the SAT Essay .

Home » SAT® Test » How Is the SAT® Essay Scored?

How Is the SAT® Essay Scored?

• Last Updated: November 20, 2020

• Essay Score , Score Results

The score you receive on the essay portion of the SAT® exam measures your performance in three areas:

The scores you receive for these three categories are given by two essay readers who are specially trained to assess this exam section. 

The process for scoring is simple:

• Both of the readers will give you scores between 1 and 4 for the three specified areas. 
• Then, the two scores for your reading, two scores for your analysis, and two scores for your writing are added up.
• The three scores you receive are produced by combining the two graders’ scores. 

When you get your SAT essay scores back, you can expect to receive the three cumulative scores that result from combining the grades each reader gives your essay. Ultimately, you will receive three scores between 2 and 8 for your reading, analysis, and writing . 

The essay score does not affect your overall exam score. The essay section of the exam used to affect your Writing score, but weighing your essay performance into the writing section has been eliminated from the SAT exam’s scoring process. Since the essay score has zero consequences on the total score you receive on the SAT test, you may not feel that it is as important, especially if it is not required for your applications.

Many schools list the essay as optional in their admissions process, and the relevance of your scores may vary depending on the major or program to which you are applying. 

The official readers are trained to score you fairly and accurately . For an idea of how you will do on the essay portion of the SAT, it is a good idea to take practice tests and become familiar with the prompts, timing, and expectations.

When you sit to write the official essay, you will know what to expect from the prompts. Practice tests can also provide an idea of what your score will be, based on your past performance.

There are no percentiles on the essay score report. When you receive your official score report, you will see that the Reading and Writing and the Math test scores include the opportunity to compare your scores to other students.

These rankings are not available for the SAT essay test because you do not receive a single score: instead, you receive three scores for your reading, analysis, and writing skills.

How to Self-Study for the SAT®

How To Interpret the Digital SAT® Score Report

Which AP® Exams Will Be Digital In 2024?

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SAT Essay Scores: Score Calculation and SAT Essay Score Range

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Highlights:

• SAT essay score is measured by 3 sections: reading, analysis, and writing .
• Each section of SAT essay is calculated on a 2 to 8 level .
• From 2021, SAT essay was discontinued .
• Achieving 20 out of 24 SAT exam essay scores was accepted by most of the top universities. 

SAT essay score is measured on a scale of 2 to 8 for each section . Your SAT essay scores were measured on 3 dimensions: reading, analysis, and writing. Certain universities consider SAT exam essay scores vital for admission, despite it being optional. Until 2021, SAT essay score was also an optional section, but this year the essay section was discontinued. SAT essay score is not required anymore, but if you want to showcase your writing skills, you can consider taking an AP English course. Achieving 20 out of 24 SAT writing scores was accepted by most of the top universities . 

SAT Essay Score Range

The SAT Essay Score ranges from 2 to 8 according to their proficiency level. SAT Essay is evaluated on three criteria – Reading, Analysis, and Writing.

SAT Essay is scored by two different people in between 1 and 4. Their grades are then summed up to give you a three-part grade. The highest grade you can receive is 8 for three, and while the lowest possible score can be 2 for each of the three sections of the SAT Essay Paper.

SAT Essay Score Calculation

The SAT essay reading part of your grade assesses how well you read the essay that was provided. The SAT essay analysis part assesses how well you explained your point. The SAT essay writing part assesses how good your syntax and flow was.

The steps on how the SAT Essay is evaluated are given below:

• 2 distinct raters will examine your essay;
• 4 for Advanced level
• 3 for Proficient level
• 2 for Partial level
• 1 for Inadequate level
• After both of them completes the evaluation, the 2 scores for each of the dimensions are added.
• Candidates will receive 3 scores for the SAT Essay: One for each dimension which ranges from 2 to 8 points.

What is a Good SAT Essay Score?

For candidates wondering “What is a good essay score on SAT?”

Well, a good SAT Essay Score is scoring 19 out of 24. If a candidate manages to get above 22 out of 24, it is considered as an excellent SAT Score .

Average SAT Essay Score

There are different ways and parameters for calculating the average SAT Essay Scores. However, an average SAT Essay score is 14 out of a maximum of 24 points for all the three sections. Logically, Average SAT Score should be equal to 15 for all three sections. But apparently, it comes out to be 14. The Analysis dimension is the part of the SAT essay task that is most different from what students have had to do on other standardized test essays. The average SAT Essay score is 5 out of 8 for the Reading section, 3 out of 8 for the Analysis Section, and 5 out of 8 for Writing.

SAT Essay Score Percentile

The rough breakdown of the SAT essay score percentile based on the most recent College Board data is given in the table below:

Score	Reading	Analysis	Writing
8	99	99+	98
7	96	99	93
6	70	93	53
5	48	79	33
4	18	51	9
3	8	32	4
2	0	0	0

In order to apply to the top foreign Universities of the English speaking nations, Candidates are required to obtain a decent SAT Essay Score. Universities like Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Stanford University require a decent SAT Essay score of 5-6 out of 8 in Reading, at least 4 out of 8 in Analysis, and 5-6 out of 8 in Writing.

To attain a good SAT Essay score, students need to practice more and more with the reading part. Try to understand what the author is trying to say and then take time to analyze and organize your thoughts and finally present it in a better way. This is one of the quick and easy ways to boost your SAT Essay Score.

ACT Essay Vs SAT Essay

ACT Vs SAT score conversion helps to determine the better performance of the candidate in these exams.

Essay	ACT	SAT
Nature of Prompt	Develop a unique point of view on a topic while incorporating three different, brief viewpoints on the topic given as part of the prompt.	Evaluate a long passage by a published author, identify the author’s argument, and show how the author makes his or her argument.
Time Duration	40	50
Support	Reasoning and examples taken from students’ personal experience in and outside of school	Rhetorical, stylistic, and logical reasoning from the passage itself
Word Limit	250-300	650-800

SAT Essay Sample

Here are SAT example essays for you:

Each section of SAT essay ranges on a scale of 2 to 8, and achieving a score of 6 in every section is considered a good score. Your SAT essay score will be based on your reading, analysis, and writing levels. From 2021 SAT essay scores are not a part of the exam. 

Ques: What is a good essay score on the SAT?

Ans: Each section of SAT essay ranges on a scale of 2 to 8, and achieving a score of 6 in every section is considered a good score. A score of 20+ on SAT essay was acceptable for the top-ranked universities worldwide.

Ques: Is the SAT essay hard?

Ans: Candidates doing regular practice with SAT sample papers and with a good knowledge of English reading and writing can easily achieve a good score on SAT essays.

Ques: Is 14 a good SAT essay score?

Ans: Achieving a SAT essay score of 14 out of 24 is an average score. On average, achieving a score of 20+ is considered a good SAT essay score.

Ques: Is 20 a good SAT essay score?

Ans: Achieving a score of 20 on SAT was considered a good score and was accepted by most of the top universities. The total sum of the three-part SAT essay score was 24.

Ques: Does SAT essay score matter?

Ans: SAT essay score does not matter on your score report. SAT essay was discontinued in 2021. There are other ways to show your writing skills by taking another English essay exam.

Ques: Is a 90% on an essay good?

Ans: Achieving a 90% score on SAT essay was comparatively hard, and you need to write your essay with a perfect intro and conclusion for a higher score.

Ques: Who grades SAT essays?

Ans: SAT essay scores are graded on a scale of 2 to 8 for each section. Your SAT essay score will be based on your reading, analysis, and writing levels.

Ques: Can I send my SAT score without the essay?

Ans: From 2021 SAT essay scores are not a part of the exam. You can send your total SAT score to the universities by visiting the College Board’s official website.

Ques: Is it easy to get 40% on an essay?

Ans: Getting 40% on SAT is relatively easy. You need to write a perfect essay with a good introduction and conclusion to achieve a good score. 

Ques: How to start a SAT essay?

Ans: A perfect introduction to SAT essay describes and paraphrases the argument, and you need to introduce the specific passage and argument that you will discuss in the essay. One thing you need to remember is that your conclusion should sum up all the points you made.

* The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.

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How Is the SAT Scored? Read This Guide to Find Out.

Here at CollegeVine we’ve met a lot of students over the years, so we know that there are some universal questions that come up for serious students undergoing the college application process. One question that we hear frequently from one eager student after another is “How is the SAT scored?”

Some students wonder if the SAT is scored on a curve. Others wonder what the physical procedure is for scoring the SAT. Still more want to know how their SAT score is actually calculated from the raw data that is gathered from their tests. In all cases, the answers are fairly straightforward, though not immediately obvious to the casual SAT taker. In this post, we answer the question of how is the SAT scored and explain each step in the process.

Is the SAT Scored on a Curve?

First, let’s dispel the common myth that the SAT is scored on a curve—it’s not. In fact, the scores of other test takers taking the same SAT on the same day as you are entirely irrelevant to your score.

Instead, the SAT is scored according to a scale of difficulty that is independently determined ahead of time by a precise algorithm. When you take the test, your score does not depend on how the greater population performed on the same SAT, but rather on how difficult your version of the SAT was determined to be. This is to ensure that there is no advantage to getting an easier test and no disadvantage to getting a harder test.

If you happen to take an easier form of the SAT and receive a higher raw score, the equating process will account for this when converting your score. Any mistakes that you make on the easier test will count more than a mistake would count on a harder version of the it. Similarly, the equating process is more forgiving for students who take a more difficult version of the test.

To learn more about how SAT scores are equated, check out our article How Does the Curve Work for the SAT?

What Is the Scoring Procedure for the SAT?

When you take the SAT, you actually take several, smaller subject-specific tests. On the current version of the SAT, these include the Math test and the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Test, which actually contains separate sections for Writing and Reading.

After you take the SAT, your test along with everyone else’s from your test center is sent to a scoring facility. Here, your answer sheets for each section are scanned through a scoring machine. This is why it is so important that you fill out your answer sheet correctly using the appropriate writing utensil (a #2 pencil!).

The result of this machine scanning your answer sheet is commonly referred to as your raw score. A raw score is simply the total number of correct answers you submitted in each section. For some students, it comes as a surprise to learn that the average SAT taker never sees his or her raw scores. While the physical scoring process ends at the raw scores, there is still work to be done before you receive a neatly packaged score report.

Discover how your SAT score affects your chances

As part of our free guidance platform, our Admissions Assessment tells you what schools you need to improve your SAT score for and by how much. Sign up to get started today.

How Is My SAT Score Calculated?

Raw scores are converted to section scores ranging from 200-800. This process is called equating.

Equating takes into account the specific difficulty of each version of the test. Because several different test forms are given at each test administration, the specific equating process for your test will depend on the specific version of the test that you took, and it may be different than the equating process applied to the tests of people sitting next to you.

These scaled scores make it possible to compare your score to scores obtained from different versions of the SAT, regardless of any variable difficulty. You can get a better idea of the exact process by reviewing the scoring procedure for official SAT practice tests prepared by the College Board. Check out the Raw Score Conversion Tables beginning on page seven of the packet Scoring Your SAT Practice Test #1 .  

What If I Believe My SAT Was Scored Incorrectly?

Millions of students take the SAT each year. While scoring errors are uncommon, they are not impossible. If you receive a score that seems completely out of line with what you expected, there is a process for requesting a review.

The first and simplest step you can take is to request a Student Answer Verification. This service includes an overview of the difficulty of each question answered correctly, incorrectly, or omitted and of the type of test questions. If your SAS report reveals that you got every difficult question wrong, it’s likely that your exam was graded correctly, and you just didn’t realize how hard those questions actually were.

This answer verification service is not designed to be used as a test prep or practice tool.The fee for this service is $13.50. See the SAT Answer Verification Services Order Form for more information.

If you still don’t think your test was scored correctly, you may request a score verification. This is a good idea if you believe you may have made an obvious mistake in marking your answers, or if your essay appears blank or completely illegible when you view it in your online score report. In this case, you may have written your essay in ink (which does not scan properly), and it would not have been assessed appropriately.  

You may request a Multiple-choice hand score verification and/or an Essay score verification. Each service costs $55 (or $27.50 for fee-waiver users). Your score verification fee will be refunded if your score changes because of an irregularity in the College Board’s scanning and/or scoring processes. If your score does not change, if it changes due to an obvious error you made in marking your answer sheet, or if you wrote your essay in pen or otherwise failed to follow directions for marking your answers and completing test information, your fee will not be refunded.

For more about score verification services, check out the College Board’s Important Information for Using the SAT® Score Verification Service .

Preparing for the SAT? Download our  free guide with our top 8 tips for mastering the SAT.

Want to know how your SAT score impacts your chances of acceptance to your dream schools? Our free Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

To get started with your studying, check out these free CollegeVine SAT study resources:

• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Math Test
• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Reading Test
• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Writing and Language Test
• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Essay
• 10 Tips to Prepare for the SAT
• Five SAT Strategies You Should Know

To learn more about the SAT, check out these CollegeVine posts:

• So, What Is the SAT Anyway? (A Newbie’s Guide to the College Board SAT)
• ACT vs SAT/SAT Subject Tests
• Are PSAT Scores Related to SAT Scores?
• What Should I Bring to My SAT?
• A Guide to the New SAT
• The CollegeVine Guide to SAT Scores: All Your Questions Answered
• How to Register For Your SATs

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Covering Innovation & Inequality in Education

PROOF POINTS: Asian American students lose more points in an AI essay grading study — but researchers don’t know why

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When ChatGPT was released to the public in November 2022, advocates and watchdogs warned about the potential for racial bias. The new large language model was created by harvesting 300 billion words from books, articles and online writing, which include racist falsehoods and reflect writers’ implicit biases. Biased training data is likely to generate biased advice, answers and essays. Garbage in, garbage out. 

Researchers are starting to document how AI bias manifests in unexpected ways. Inside the research and development arm of the giant testing organization ETS, which administers the SAT, a pair of investigators pitted man against machine in evaluating more than 13,000 essays written by students in grades 8 to 12. They discovered that the AI model that powers ChatGPT penalized Asian American students more than other races and ethnicities in grading the essays. This was purely a research exercise and these essays and machine scores weren’t used in any of ETS’s assessments. But the organization shared its analysis with me to warn schools and teachers about the potential for racial bias when using ChatGPT or other AI apps in the classroom.

AI and humans scored essays differently by race and ethnicity

“Take a little bit of caution and do some evaluation of the scores before presenting them to students,” said Mo Zhang, one of the ETS researchers who conducted the analysis. “There are methods for doing this and you don’t want to take people who specialize in educational measurement out of the equation.”

That might sound self-serving for an employee of a company that specializes in educational measurement. But Zhang’s advice is worth heeding in the excitement to try new AI technology. There are potential dangers as teachers save time by offloading grading work to a robot.

In ETS’s analysis, Zhang and her colleague Matt Johnson fed 13,121 essays into one of the latest versions of the AI model that powers ChatGPT, called GPT 4 Omni or simply GPT-4o . (This version was added to ChatGPT in May 2024, but when the researchers conducted this experiment they used the latest AI model through a different portal.)  

A little background about this large bundle of essays : students across the nation had originally written these essays between 2015 and 2019 as part of state standardized exams or classroom assessments. Their assignment had been to write an argumentative essay, such as “Should students be allowed to use cell phones in school?” The essays were collected to help scientists develop and test automated writing evaluation.

Each of the essays had been graded by expert raters of writing on a 1-to-6 point scale with 6 being the highest score. ETS asked GPT-4o to score them on the same six-point scale using the same scoring guide that the humans used. Neither man nor machine was told the race or ethnicity of the student, but researchers could see students’ demographic information in the datasets that accompany these essays.

GPT-4o marked the essays almost a point lower than the humans did. The average score across the 13,121 essays was 2.8 for GPT-4o and 3.7 for the humans. But Asian Americans were docked by an additional quarter point. Human evaluators gave Asian Americans a 4.3, on average, while GPT-4o gave them only a 3.2 – roughly a 1.1 point deduction. By contrast, the score difference between humans and GPT-4o was only about 0.9 points for white, Black and Hispanic students. Imagine an ice cream truck that kept shaving off an extra quarter scoop only from the cones of Asian American kids. 

“Clearly, this doesn’t seem fair,” wrote Johnson and Zhang in an unpublished report they shared with me. Though the extra penalty for Asian Americans wasn’t terribly large, they said, it’s substantial enough that it shouldn’t be ignored. 

The researchers don’t know why GPT-4o issued lower grades than humans, and why it gave an extra penalty to Asian Americans. Zhang and Johnson described the AI system as a “huge black box” of algorithms that operate in ways “not fully understood by their own developers.” That inability to explain a student’s grade on a writing assignment makes the systems especially frustrating to use in schools.

This one study isn’t proof that AI is consistently underrating essays or biased against Asian Americans. Other versions of AI sometimes produce different results. A separate analysis of essay scoring by researchers from University of California, Irvine and Arizona State University found that AI essay grades were just as frequently too high as they were too low . That study, which used the 3.5 version of ChatGPT, did not scrutinize results by race and ethnicity.

I wondered if AI bias against Asian Americans was somehow connected to high achievement. Just as Asian Americans tend to score high on math and reading tests, Asian Americans, on average, were the strongest writers in this bundle of 13,000 essays. Even with the penalty, Asian Americans still had the highest essay scores, well above those of white, Black, Hispanic, Native American or multi-racial students. 

In both the ETS and UC-ASU essay studies, AI awarded far fewer perfect scores than humans did. For example, in this ETS study, humans awarded 732 perfect 6s, while GPT-4o gave out a grand total of only three. GPT’s stinginess with perfect scores might have affected a lot of Asian Americans who had received 6s from human raters.

ETS’s researchers had asked GPT-4o to score the essays cold, without showing the chatbot any graded examples to calibrate its scores. It’s possible that a few sample essays or small tweaks to the grading instructions, or prompts, given to ChatGPT could reduce or eliminate the bias against Asian Americans. Perhaps the robot would be fairer to Asian Americans if it were explicitly prompted to “give out more perfect 6s.” 

The ETS researchers told me this wasn’t the first time that they’ve noticed Asian students treated differently by a robo-grader. Older automated essay graders, which used different algorithms, have sometimes done the opposite, giving Asians higher marks than human raters did. For example, an ETS automated scoring system developed more than a decade ago, called e-rater, tended to inflate scores for students from Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong on their essays for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), according to a study published in 2012 . That may have been because some Asian students had memorized well-structured paragraphs, while humans easily noticed that the essays were off-topic. (The ETS website says it only relies on the e-rater score alone for practice tests, and uses it in conjunction with human scores for actual exams.) 

Asian Americans also garnered higher marks from an automated scoring system created during a coding competition in 2021 and powered by BERT, which had been the most advanced algorithm before the current generation of large language models, such as GPT. Computer scientists put their experimental robo-grader through a series of tests and discovered that it gave higher scores than humans did to Asian Americans’ open-response answers on a reading comprehension test. 

It was also unclear why BERT sometimes treated Asian Americans differently. But it illustrates how important it is to test these systems before we unleash them in schools. Based on educator enthusiasm, however, I fear this train has already left the station. In recent webinars, I’ve seen many teachers post in the chat window that they’re already using ChatGPT, Claude and other AI-powered apps to grade writing. That might be a time saver for teachers, but it could also be harming students. 

This story about AI bias was written by Jill Barshay and produced by  The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for  Proof Points  and other  Hechinger newsletters .

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Call me a relic, from the past, but AI scoring seems too impersonal. As a math teacher, I love my subject. I like correcting papers. It gives me a “feel” for my students’ performance. I can see their approaches. I can see their understanding, or lack of understanding. If a machine is doing your grading, you get none of that. The teacher becomes a faceless clerk, in a store.

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Interpreting SAT Scores

Help your students learn how to interpret their SAT score and find out what the numbers mean. To view scores, students can sign in to their online account.

SAT Score Structure

• Total SAT score: 400–1600
• Reading and Writing Section: 200–800
• Math Section: 200–800
• SAT Essay: Three scores ranging from 2–8

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SAT Score Reported	Details	Score Range
	Sum of the 2 section scores.	400–1600
	Reading and Writing, and Math.	200–800
	Reading, Analysis, and Writing.	2–8

Putting Scores into Perspective

Score and score insights provide substantial feedback. Mean scores, score comparisons, percentiles, and benchmarks can help your students put their scores in perspective. Knowledge and skills performance can help identify strengths and weaknesses and see what skills need more practice. However, scores won't reveal if students passed because there's no such thing as a passing score.

What the Numbers Mean

Score ranges, benchmarks, mean (average) score comparisons, and percentiles can be used to see if your students are on track for college readiness.

Score Ranges

Score ranges show how much a student's score might change with repeated testing, assuming their skill level remains the same.

Usually, section scores for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and for Math fall in a range of roughly 30 to 40 points above or below their true ability. Colleges know this, and they receive the score ranges along with scores to consider that single snapshot in context.

Mean (Average) Score Comparisons

Score information online show you the mean, or average, scores earned by typical U.S. test takers per grade. You can view the mean scores of testers at the student's school, district, state, country, and/or testers worldwide (as applicable). Unless a score is much lower than average, your students are developing the kinds of reading, writing and language, and math skills they'll need in college.

College and Career Readiness Benchmarks

The SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks reflect benchmark scores for both Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math sections. Students whose scores meet each section's benchmarks are considered college and career ready. That means if a score is at or above the benchmark, they're on track to be ready for college after high school.

Students can use the detailed feedback in their online score portal or speak with a school counselor about their scores to see which skills need the most improvement.

Percentile Ranks

A percentile rank is a number between 1 and 99 that shows how your students scored compared to other students. It represents the percentage of students whose scores fall at or below their score. For example, a test taker in the 57th percentile scored higher than or equal to 57% of test takers.

You'll see up to four percentiles:

• The Nationally Representative Sample percentile (available in the K–12 Student Roster only) compares your students' scores to the scores of typical 11th- and 12th-grade U.S. students.
• The All Tester Percentile compares their scores to the actual scores of all recent graduates (worldwide) who took the SAT during high school.
• The Country Percentile compares their scores to the actual scores of recent graduates in the student's country who took the SAT during high school.
• The State Percentile compares their scores to the actual scores of recent graduates in the student's state who took the SAT during high school. This is available to U.S. testers only.

Retaking the SAT Takes Practice

As you and your students learn more about scores, let them know that many students take the SAT for the first time in the spring of their junior year and again in the fall of their senior year. Students usually do better the second time.

Learn how benchmarks work together to help students and educators assess student progress toward college readiness from year to year.

Understanding SAT Weekend Scores for Students and Families

This document helps students taking the SAT on a weekend administration understand the student's scores and learn where to find more information.

Understanding Your SAT Score

Students can watch this video to learn about their score and score insights.

SAT School Day Understanding Scores for Students and Families

This document helps students taking the SAT during in-school testing and their families understand the student's scores and learn where to find more information.

SAT School Day Understanding Scores for Students and Families (Spanish)

This document helps students who took SAT School Day and their families understand the student's scores and learn where to find more information.

SAT School Day Understanding Scores for Students and Families (Chinese)

Sat school day understanding scores for students and families (arabic), related topics.

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Does the SAT Essay Matter? Expert Guide

In days of yore, the SAT Essay was very different. For starters, it was a required portion of the exam, scored as part of the writing section. You had a measly 25 minutes to give and support your opinion on such deep philosophical issues as the importance of privacy or whether people perform better when they can use their own methods to complete tasks.

Things are very different now. Along with the SAT itself, the SAT Essay has been completely revamped and revised. Among other things, it is now an optional portion of the exam. In light of this SAT Essay renovation, many schools will no longer require that students take the SAT Essay when they take the exam.

But what do all these changes mean for you? Is the SAT Essay important? Read on for a breakdown of the new SAT changes, information on which schools continue to require the SAT Essay, why schools do and don’t require this portion of the exam, and how to figure out if the SAT Essay is necessary or important for you.

UPDATE: SAT Essay No Longer Offered

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In January 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer offer the Essay portion of the SAT (except at schools who opt in during School Day Testing). It is now no longer possible to take the SAT Essay, unless your school is one of the small number who choose to offer it during SAT School Day Testing.

While most colleges had already made SAT Essay scores optional, this move by the College Board means no colleges now require the SAT Essay. It will also likely lead to additional college application changes such not looking at essay scores at all for the SAT or ACT, as well as potentially requiring additional writing samples for placement.

What does the end of the SAT Essay mean for your college applications? Check out our article on the College Board's SAT Essay decision for everything you need to know.

The New SAT Essay

The SAT was revised in March 2016. The aspect of the exam that is most changed is the essay. Instead of writing a 25-minute opinion piece, you will have 50 minutes to analyze how the author of a given passage constructs his or her argument.

Additionally, instead of having the exam integrated into your composite score, you will receive a separate score for your exam that does not affect your 1600-point score. The new exam is graded out of 24 points - 8 points each in “Reading” (essentially reading comprehension), “Analysis,” and “Writing” (writing style). See our breakdown of the new rubric here .

Finally, the new essay is a completely optional portion of the exam. You don’t have to take it, and you’ll still get your 1600-point score. In this way it’s a lot like the ACT, which also has an optional essay. If you wish to register for the SAT Essay, you’ll pay an extra $11.50.

Because the essay is now optional, colleges have the option of not requiring students to send SAT Essay scores. Thus, many colleges have dropped this requirement. So who still requires the SAT Essay?

Let this creepy happy pencil guide you through the SAT Essay!

Who Requires the New SAT Essay?

According to a Kaplan poll in which 300 schools were surveyed, most schools will not require the optional SAT Essay. However, some still do recommend or require it, particularly in the most selective tier of institutions.

Notably, elite schools like the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, and the University of Chicago are divided on the issue, with some requiring the essay and some neither requiring or recommending it. In the Ivy League, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth and Yale will continue to require the SAT Essay, and Columbia, Cornell, UPenn, and Brown will not.

Big state schools are similarly divided: for example, the University of California system and the University of Michigan both require the essay, University of Illinois and Purdue University recommend it; and Penn State, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Indiana University neither require nor recommend the essay.

For the most up-to-date information on a school’s position on the SAT Essay, check the College Board . If the school isn’t on the list, check their admissions website. Those schools that do require the essay have gone on the record with specific reasons for doing so; I’ll break those down in the next section.

Schools are divided, like this egg.

Why Do Schools Require the SAT Essay?

Given that so many schools won’t require the essay going forward, you may be curious about those that do still require it. What’s their reasoning? Based on public statements from school officials, it seems to boil down to three main reasons:

#1: More Information Is Better

Some colleges seem to feel that all of the information they can get from applicants is helpful in painting a complete picture of the applicant. Certainly the SAT Essay presents a somewhat unique data point in that there are no other standardized elements of a college application that would include specific information on an applicant’s timed writing skills. It makes sense that schools that value having all the information that it is conceivably possible to obtain about a student would require the SAT Essay.

#2: The Revised Test Is Similar to College Work

The old SAT Essay involved a fairly arbitrary task and bore no resemblance to any work students do in college. However, the revised essay engages a student’s rhetorical analysis skills and requires the kind of analytical thinking students will perform in college. Thus, some colleges require the new SAT Essay because they feel it gives valuable insight into how a student might perform with college-level work.

#3: Sending a Message on the Importance of Writing

Institutions may also require the SAT Essay simply because they wish to telegraph to the world that they believe writing is important. This was part of the rationale given by Yale as to why they would continue to require the essay.

That’s why schools require it—but what about schools that don’t require the essay? What’s their reasoning?

Cats or dogs: another hot-button issue at elite institutions

Why Don't Schools Require the SAT Essay?

There are four main reasons that schools have given for not requiring the SAT essay going forward:

#1: Consistency

Many schools already do not require the optional writing portion of the ACT. So now that the SAT Essay is also optional, it makes sense to not require it, either. This simply makes testing guidelines consistent for those schools.

#2: The Essay Is Redundant

Some schools feel that they already have sufficient evidence of an applicant’s writing capability through application essays. This is particularly true at institutions where multiple essays are required as part of the application.

#3: The SAT Essay Does Not Predict College Success

In the past, the old SAT essay has been shown to be the least predictive element of college success on the SAT. While there is not yet data on the new SAT essay’s predictive capabilities, schools have taken this opportunity to shed what they feel is basically dead weight in an application.

#4: Requiring the SAT Essay Presents a Burden to Underprivileged Students

Columbia’s primary concern is that the extra cost of the essay may be a deterrent to underprivileged students.   University of Pennsylvania has made similar statements —minority and underprivileged students are least likely to have a “complete testing profile.” So, they’ve eliminated the SAT Essay requirement in the hopes of attracting a more diverse applicant pool.

A diverse tomato pool.

So Does the SAT Essay Matter to Your College Chances?

I’ve gone over how and why schools use or don’t use the SAT Essay. But what does all of this mean for you?

There are two main questions you need to answer to determine how important the essay is for you: first, should you take the SAT Essay section, and second, how important is your score?

Should I Take the SAT Essay?

This comes down mostly to whether or not you are applying to schools that require or recommend the SAT Essay. (In college applications, I would generally err on the side of treating recommendations as nicely-worded requirements.)

If you are truly not interested in a single school that requires/recommends the essay, and you don’t see yourself changing your mind, go ahead and skip it.   However, if there’s even a chance you might be interested in a school that does require/recommend the essay, you should take it.

And if you’re applying to highly selective schools, definitely take the essay portion, because around half of them require the essay. So if you change your mind at the last minute and decide you’re applying to CalTech as well as MIT, you’ll need that essay.

I advise this because if you don’t take the essay portion and then end up needing it for even one school, you’ll have to take the entire test over again. If you’re happy with your score already, this will be a big four-hour drag for you.

You might also want to take the essay portion if you are particularly good at rhetorical analysis and timed writing. Even for colleges that don’t require the essay, a stellar score will look good.

How Important Is Your SAT Essay Score?

This is a little more complicated, as it does depend to a certain extent on the schools you are applying to. I spoke to admissions officers from several schools, and some themes emerged as to how important they consider your essay score to be, and how they use it in evaluating your application:

• The general consensus was that the essay was the least important part of the SAT overall. Admissions offices will look much more closely at your composite score.
• The SAT Essay is primarily looked at in combination with your other writing-based application materials: your admissions essay and your high school English transcripts are also used to determine your writing and language skills. Essentially, it’s a part of a facet of your application.
• That said, bombing the essay would be a red flag to admissions officers that you might not be fully prepared for college-level work.

Overall, I would advise you not to sweat your essay score too much. The most important thing is that your essay score is more or less consistent with your other test scores. It certainly doesn’t have to be perfect—if you get a 1600 and an 18 out of 24, I wouldn’t stress too much. But if you, say, have a 1500 and get a 9/24 on the essay, that’s a little more concerning, as it may cause concern among admissions officers that you aren’t prepared for college-level work.

In general, then, schools really look at the score, but it’s not one of the most important parts of your application or even your SAT score.  Your best bet if you are interested in a given school that requires the essay and you want more specific guidance how they use the essay is to call the admissions office and ask. To learn more about what a good SAT Essay score is, check out our guide to the average SAT Essay score.

Not this kind of score!

How Can I Succeed on the SAT Essay?

Luckily, it’s very possible to learn the skills to hit the SAT Essay out of the park every time. Here are some general tips:

• Learn specific persuasive and argumentative techniques that you can reference in your essay. If you can’t identify what devices authors can use to make arguments, how will you write an essay about it?
• Make sure you have a clear thesis that can be defended with evidence from the passage.
• Include an introduction and a conclusion. This will help “bracket” your great points and show that you know how to structure a solid piece of writing.
• Rely on evidence from the passage to build your argument.
• Don’t give your opinion on the issue! The new SAT essay is not opinion-based.
• Make sure you use correct grammar and academic language. (No “This passage, like my brows, is on fleek.”)
• Write at least a page.

Also see this guide to getting a perfect SAT Essay score and this one on improving your score.

Tips to success: don't fold up the Essay section into origami boats.

Final Summary and Actionables

With the new SAT making the essay section optional, many schools have chosen to neither require nor recommend that students take it. Most schools will no longer require the essay, but highly selective schools are divided on the issue.

Among those schools that do require the SAT Essay, many have gone on the record to say that they feel the essay provides a valuable additional piece of information on an applicant’s potential for college-level work. They plan on using the essay as a way to further evaluate an applicant’s writing skills, although for most of these schools it is considered the least important part of the SAT score .

At schools where the SAT Essay is not required, the essay has been eliminated for a variety of reasons: for more consistency with ACT requirements, because the Essay seems redundant or poorly predictive of college success, or to attract a more diverse applicant pool.

What does all this mean for you? If there’s even a chance you’ll apply to a school that requires or recommends the essay, take the SAT with Essay. If you don’t and end up needing it later, you’ll have to re-take the entire exam.

If you do take the SAT Essay, don’t stress too much about getting a perfect score, but do prepare enough that you are confident you won’t get a very low score compared to your composite.

What's Next?

If you're thinking about test scores and college, check out my article on the minimum SAT score for college.

Ready to get started with practice essays? Check out our thorough analysis of the SAT essay prompt and our complete list of prompts to practice with .

Aiming for a perfect SAT essay score? Read our guides to get strategies on how to get an 8/8/8 on your SAT essay .

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Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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